Medical boards in Australia and New Zealand are reporting an increase in complaints about inappropriate sexual behavior when patients are sedated with propofol, according to an article in the National Business Review.
Dentists, anesthetists, and male recovery nurses are particularly at risk of such complaints, the article noted.
Last month a dentist in Christchurch, NZ, denied three charges of professional misconduct over incidents in 1984, 1989, and 2001. In all three cases he is alleged to have made the women to touch his penis while they were sedated, according to the National Business Review.
Earlier this year, a Pennsylvania dentist was acquitted of charges he sexually molested several female patients, following testimony from expert witnesses – all board-certified anesthesiologists – about the potential for propofol and other anesthetics to induce sexual hallucinations. A 2003 study found that midazolam and propofol are particularly prone to producing sexual hallucinations (Anaesthesia, June 2003, Vol. 58:6, pp. 549-553).
The Australian New Zealand College of Anaesthetists is advising practitioners of both genders to be present when patients are sedated or anesthetised, according to the college's December Bulletin.
